August 17 2024 BJJ Tournament

INTRODUCTION

We are proud to offer the first jiu-jitsu tournament hosted in Southeast Alaska. The goal of this tournament is to provide jiu-jitsu and grappling students an opportunity to gain competition experience while limiting its cost. Jiu-jitsu competitors typically have to travel to Anchorage, Seattle, or further which incurs costs for airfare, hotels, and more.

The focus of this tournament is new competitors and no one should feel discouraged to compete because of lack of experience. Additionally, we are using the Madison system for determining brackets. Rather than assign competitors to a bracket based on weight cutoffs, we will develop brackets based on the weight of each grappler on the day of competition. This discourages weight cutting and also distributes competitors into more even brackets so that everyone gets the most experience possible.

The tournament will be a double elimination format. Divisions will be organized by belt rank. Competitors will be able to “compete up” by signing up as a higher belt rank. Competitors who have significant experience in other grappling disciplines but no formal jiu-jitsu training should contact the Tournament Organizer for placement. Competitors may not misrepresent their experience by signing up at a lower level of skill that there belt rank or time in training indicates.

WEIGH INS

Competitors must weigh in at one of the available times so that brackets can be completed with accurate information. Competitors will be sorted into brackets by skill/belt level with others who are within 10% of their own weight and within 5 years of their own age for adults and 2 years for children/teens. If building a bracket would require going outside of those guidelines, competitors or their parent/guardian will be asked for consent prior to building the bracket. Because we are using the Madison Bracketing system, we must obtain accurate weights for all competitors before finalizing brackets. Therefore, all competitors must be available at weigh-ins (Saturday, August 17, 9am) or they will be disqualified. Refunds will not be given to competitors who miss weigh-ins without prior notice.

UNIFORM/EQUIPMENT RULES

Uniform: For all competitors: Competitors must be in the uniform as described for the type of match that their bracket is called for. No additional gear such as groin protectors or joint braces can be worn if they have any hard components such as plastic or metal reinforcements. Mouthguards can be worn if they are not extruding from the mouth or preventing the competitor from closing their mouth.

For Gi competition – competitors must wear a jiu-jitsu gi that is clean and undamaged as well as a jiu-jitsu belt. The jiu-jitsu gi must have an actual weave to the jacket and meet the minimum measurements (e.g. sleeve length) as listed in IBJJF standards. Any color of uniform is acceptable. Patches and embroidery must conform to IBJJF standards. All athletes may wear close-fitting compression gear under their gi (rash guard/spats) if they choose. No additional gear such as groin protectors or joint braces can be worn if they have any hard components such as plastic or metal reinforcements.

For No-gi competition – Competitors must wear at minimum board style shorts and a shirt that covers the shoulders and chest. Tight-fitting gear such as rash guards and spats are not required.

All competitors must have footwear and they must wear that footwear any time they are not on the mats. Footwear including wrestling shoes or socks may not be worn on the mats.

All competitors must be free of contagious disease or infection and should take particular notice of any transmissible skin conditions such as staph infections, athlete’s food, or ringworm. Competitors who attempt to compete with such transmissible conditions will be removed from the event and may be subject to further action including not being allowed to compete at future events.

When a bracket is called, all competitors will present for a uniform check. Competitors must be in uniform at this time, be wearing appropriate footwear. Competitors should also bring water with them, if they do it must be in a non-spill container such as a sports bottle. Once their bracket is called, competitors must stay in the assigned area for the duration of their bracket. All matches will be completed before the bracket is released.

SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST 17th

9:00am-10:00am weigh-ins begin.
9:45-10:00am rules meeting
10:00am brackets will be posted and matches will begin
Expected order will be kids and adults gi matches followed by adults nogi matches.
Because this is expected to be a small tournament, we estimated that all brackets will be complete by 2-3pm.
We will provided an estimated call time when brackets are posted but competitors must remain available in the tournament area.

TOURNAMENT RULES

Except where otherwise indicated in this document, this tournament will follow IBJJF Rules. Reference the IBJJF Rulebook (last updated June 2024) for detailed information.